Nigeria, Belarus Halt All FX Trading As Central Bank Urges “Don’t Panic” | Zero Hedge.
Just because Russia has managed to stabilize its currency for the time being as crude tries to find a floor, that certainly does not mean the soaring dollar tantrum-cum-crude crash episode is anywhere near over, nor that stability has returned to the rest of the oil-exporting countries. Case in point, crude-exporting powerhouse Nigeria, where things are going from worse to #REF!
As Bloomberg reported yesterday, the temporary Russian FX-trading halt appears to have inspired all other nations with plunging currencies (the Nigeria Naira just hit a new record low against the dollar in recent trade), and as a result Nigerian FX dealers halted trading after a central bank rule change meant to “limit speculation” against the plunging naira confused investors. “This raises concerns about the credibility of the central bank,” Kevin Daly, senior portfolio manager at Aberdeen Asset Management Plc, said by phone from London. “If it was their intention to stabilize or see some appreciation of the naira, it’s backfired.”
Bid and ask prices for the naira were quoted from 162 to 190 per dollar with only 16 trades by 1 p.m. in Lagos [yesterday], compared with more than 170 by the same time yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The naira fell 12 percent against the dollar this quarter, the worst among 24 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg after Malawi’s kwacha. Investors dropped Nigerian assets as the outlook for Africa’s biggest oil producer worsened with Brent crude prices almost halving since late June.
